a letter from Martha:
JULY 2021Hi. Really, hi.Damn, it’s been a long time. This last year feels like six. Or sixteen. There certainly has been years and years’ worth of loss accordioned into my last 15 months. I had to close SPW. My wife was laid off. Then her mom died. Then George Floyd was murdered by police. We took to the streets risking a lethal virus and state violence. Umm, then there were some fires and smoke blotted out the sun for a bit. Then we had an election. (Do you remember that we had to wait for a while to find out who we elected?) Then we had to wait to see if this democracy thing was “on” or not. And then the insurrection. Yeah, January 6th – also the day my dad died. But wait, there’s more... Really, it’s too much to tell.
The continual tumble of these year-like-months has been rough. ROUGH. And I know that I have made it through better than lots and lots and lots. As I peer out of my rent controlled apartment, with my shaken but vaccinated family, our brothers and sisters all over the world are trying to live through trials I can’t even imagine. And just weeks ago - as a nation - we celebrated Juneteenth. A perfect American tradition that acknowledges white cruelty and Black survival - both of which are extraordinary. |
Some of you have written me, asking if I was firing SPW back up. I’m sorry if I didn’t write back. I was/am weathering a storm. I am bruised and better. I am confused and clearer. I am ready to get started. Again.
I’ve missed you. I’ve missed what we do in SPW. I’ve missed climbing the terracotta steps at 16th & Mission. I’ve missed clutching a hot paper cup to keep my hands warm. I’ve missed 3 Things and Top 10s and the one true thing we keep circling around in class: Telling the truth about ourselves is fun. Well, it can be. I am looking forward to crossing paths with all of you again. When the time is right, I’ll be so glad to see you. Love, Martha |
A fresh start.
After over a year of shuttered theaters, SPW is throwing open its doors!
Classes start in September 2021!
Classes start in September 2021!
Some things will be the same.
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And, there are some changes.
After a long year of contemplation, I want to engage with equity in a new way.
This class often attracts more people than SPW can serve. In the past, in an effort to be “fair”, I have tried many strategies which have leaned into the model of first-come, first-served. 2020 offered us many teachings including: Fairness and equity are not the same thing.
For Fall 2021 classes, SPW will be accepting applications for registration. People will submit applications and I'll choose who will be in each class. My choices will be informed by a commitment to equity and access. This will feel new. Many of us want things to go back to the way they were. But really we need things to be better versions of what came before. This is an effort towards that. I hope you will join me.
After a long year of contemplation, I want to engage with equity in a new way.
This class often attracts more people than SPW can serve. In the past, in an effort to be “fair”, I have tried many strategies which have leaned into the model of first-come, first-served. 2020 offered us many teachings including: Fairness and equity are not the same thing.
For Fall 2021 classes, SPW will be accepting applications for registration. People will submit applications and I'll choose who will be in each class. My choices will be informed by a commitment to equity and access. This will feel new. Many of us want things to go back to the way they were. But really we need things to be better versions of what came before. This is an effort towards that. I hope you will join me.
For alums, an application process is new.An application is unfamiliar in the SPW context. It may feel weird. Change feels weird sometimes. It's worth noting, I don’t love you any less; I am simply sharing my resources differently than I have – and in more alignment with my principles. This means changing my actions, which often means changing old patterns, which often means letting go of something: ideas, expectations, status, self-perception, privilege. This is how I am doing my small part to change a giant system that favors some voices more than others.
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How I got here.
In 2019 I co-produced a solo performance festival for the first time. I was curious about curating events and I wanted to put my time and energy into amplifying voices that are underrepresented. I gathered best practices from festivals around the country and built an event that would feature original queer performance. My show-producing-experience has always centered around work that I have directed. Even with a thorough application process, it is much more challenging to know the vibe of the work when the call for artists is cast far and wide. Alas, the festival launched. It had its bumps and scuffs, as all public events do, but the work on stage was varied and interesting. And then there was a show that took my breath away. But not in a good way. In a way that made me want to turn on the lights and send everyone into micro-support groups to process what we just saw. It wasn’t that it was a “bad” show – it wasn’t about the writing or the performance. My objection was to the gross insensitivity to the subject matter. I learned later that it squarely fell into the category dubbed, “holocaust porn”.
For years I have taken care to challenge stereotypes and ISMs in class. I have not been perfect at it. Sometimes I have learned from folks in class what is harmful. I have taken these lessons with me to the next class, to the next cohort. Again, this is not perfection, but it is progress. It was a BIG LEARNING to have taken part in bringing hurtful material to an audience. I can’t hide behind “I didn’t know!” because at the end of the day I am either challenging or colluding with the forces of oppression. While I will never again produce a festival of unknown-to-me artists, the more important lesson is that I want to be of integrity in all parts of the work. And while the theater was dark during Covid, and our nation thronged with the call for long overdue racial justice, I thought about what I could do in my little postage stamp part of the map. How can I shape things to serve the greater call for equity and inclusion? These formal changes to SPW during this re-start reflect my long standing values, but are now employed in a transparent way. And by sharing them, I am held accountable.
SPW asks a lot of you. That’s partly why so many people love it. I want you to know, I am asking it of myself, too.
For years I have taken care to challenge stereotypes and ISMs in class. I have not been perfect at it. Sometimes I have learned from folks in class what is harmful. I have taken these lessons with me to the next class, to the next cohort. Again, this is not perfection, but it is progress. It was a BIG LEARNING to have taken part in bringing hurtful material to an audience. I can’t hide behind “I didn’t know!” because at the end of the day I am either challenging or colluding with the forces of oppression. While I will never again produce a festival of unknown-to-me artists, the more important lesson is that I want to be of integrity in all parts of the work. And while the theater was dark during Covid, and our nation thronged with the call for long overdue racial justice, I thought about what I could do in my little postage stamp part of the map. How can I shape things to serve the greater call for equity and inclusion? These formal changes to SPW during this re-start reflect my long standing values, but are now employed in a transparent way. And by sharing them, I am held accountable.
SPW asks a lot of you. That’s partly why so many people love it. I want you to know, I am asking it of myself, too.
I am fiercely proud of the SPW community: the way we support each other's work and the work we create. Thank you for being an integral member of this community, whether you've taken one class, or three. (Or 15.) You have been part of who we are. I am excited to see who we continue to become. Most sincerely, Martha |